Socket wrench



Dec. 17, 1963 D. A. THOMAS SOCKET WRENCH Filed Jan. 8, 1962 INVENTOR. .Da/fon H Thomas ;r 4 74, M YM Hfrorngys United States Patent 3,114,278 SOCKET WRENCH Dalton A. Thomas, Rte. 3, Box 154, Sylacauga, Ala. Filed Jan. 8, 1962, Ser. No. 164,720 1 Claim. (Cl. 81124.1)

This invention relates to a socket wrench and more particularly to such a wrench in which means is associated therewith for ejecting a nut from the socket after the nut has been removed from a bolt or the like.

An object of my invention is to provide a socket wrench of the character designated which shall include improved means for holding the nut at selected positions longitudinally of the socket whereby the outer portion of the nut may project slightly out of the socket for easy engagement with a nut, thereby facilitating the threading of a nut onto a bolt w ere the bolt is located at an inconvenient location.

Another object of my invention is to provide a socket wrench of the character designated which shall be adapted for use on a conventional type socket wrench having a universal joint associated therewith for operatively connecting the socket to a suitable tool.

Another object of my invention is to provide a socket wrench of the character designated which shall have an actuating member at the side of the socket in easy reach of an operator whereby the position of the nut within the socket may be readily adjusted or the nut may be readily ejected from the socket.

A further object of my invention is to provide a socket wrench of the character designated in which the means for ejecting the nut from the socket shall correspond generally to the internal contour of the socket, thereby preventing the accumulation of grease, dirt and other foreign materials within the socket.

A further object of my invention is to provide a socket wrench of the character designated in which the means for ejecting the nut or holding the nut at selected positions within the socket is in the form of a magnet, thereby preventing accidental reelase of the nut from the socket and particularly adapting the wrench for threading nuts onto the tops of vertically extending bolts where the bolts are located at inconvenient locations.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a socket wrench of the character desi nated which shall be simple of construction, economical of manufacture and one which may be constructed by modifying conventional type socket wrenches.

Briefly, my improved socket wrench comprises an elongated tubular body having a nut receiving socket at one end thereof and means at the other end thereof for attachment to an actuating tool. An elongated outwardly opening passageway is provided in a side of the body in cornrnunication at one end with the nut receiving socket. An elongated member is mounted for sliding movement within the passageway with one end of the elongated member projecting inwardly of the socket and adapted for longitudinal movement relative thereto. To eject the not from the socket or to hold the not at selected positions, I provide a laterally projecting member on the elongated memher, which is preferably in the form of a magnet. The elongated member is moved to selected positions by a hand operated actuating member carried by the elongated member and adapted to ride in the outwardly opening passageway.

Socket wrenches embodying features of my invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of my improved socket wrench;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

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FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view showing the socket portion of the wrench connected to a conventional type universal joint which in turn is connected to the means for attachment of the socket to an actuating tool; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmental view taken generally along the line 66 of FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of my invention, my improved socket wrench embodies an elongated tubular body 10 having a nut receiving socket 11 adjacent one end thereof and a socket 12 adjacent the other end thereof adapted for attachment to an actuating tool. In view of the fact that the sockets 11 and 12 are conventional type sockets for socket wrenches, no further detail description thereof is deemed necessary.

An elongated, outwardly opening passageway 13 is provided in a side of the body It with one end of the passageway communicating with the inner end of the nut receiving socket ll. as at 114. Mounted for sliding movement within the passageway 13 and extending inwardly or" the nut receiving socket ll is an elongated member 16. The portion or" the elongated member 16 extending inwardly of the nut receiving socket 1.1 is provided with a laterally projecting member 17 which preferably is of a shape corresponding generally to the internal contour of the nut receiving socket ll, as shown in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the movement of the laterally projecting member 17 longitudinally of the socket ll maintains the socket in a clean condition at all times and prevents the accumulation of foreign material, such as grease, dirt or the like, therein.

Preferably, the laterally projecting member 17 is in the form of a magnet whereby the adjacent end of a nut is attracted thereto. The member l7 may be made magnetic by means Well known in the art whereby the north pole is at the top and the south pole at the bottom thereof or vice versa. Also, if desired the member 17 may be magnetized whereby there are a series of angularly spaced north and south poles at the bottom side thereof. The laterally projecting member 17 is separated from the adjacent surface of the socket lit by a shield member 18, as shown in FIG. 4. The shield 18 preferably engages and is secured to three sides of the laterally projecting member 17, thus leaving the side thereof which engages the nut exposed. The member 116 may be formed of any nonferrous material or may be provided with the shield member 18 on the sides thereof adjacent the body 19. On the other hand, the body 16 may be formed of a suitable non-ferrous material as is the case with many socket type wrenches.

Secured to the other end of the elongated member 16, or the end thereof opposite the laterally projecting portion 17, is an outwardly projecting actuating member indicated generally at 1%. Pivotally mounted adjacent the outer end of the actuating member 19 is an elongated handle-like member 21 which is adapted to be rotated from the solid line position shown in FIG. 1 to the dotted line position whereby the laterally projecting member 17 is held at selected positions within the nut receiving socket ll. Longitudinal movement of the elongated member 16 is limited by inner surfaces 22 and 23 at opposite ends of the outwardly opening passageway 13, as clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

From the foregoing description, the operation of my improved socket wrench will be readily understood. When it is desired to hold the nut within the socket dd. whereby the nut projects outwardly of the socket, the elongated handle/like member 21 is moved to the solid line position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 whereby the laterally projecting section 17 remains in the solid line position shown in PEG. 2. The nut may then be readily threaded Onto a suitable bolt due to the fact that it projects outwardly of the socket 11. That is, the nut is exposed whereby it moves into easy engagement with the threads of the bolt where the bolt is located at a diffioult location to reach.

To remove a nut from a bolt, the elongated handle-like member 21 is moved to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 1, or may be left in the solid line position, and the body portion is positioned over the nut whereby the nut enters the recess 11. At. er the nut has been unthreaded from the bolt, the nut is ejected from the socket 511 by moving the elongated handle-like member 21 to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 1 and then shifting the entire actuating member 19 together with the elongated member :16 and the laterally projecting portion 17 toward the open end of the socket 111, thereby ejecting the nut.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawing, 1 show a modified form of my invention in which the elongated body portion lti is operative ly connected to a tool receiving portion 24 by a universal joint indicated generally at 26. The universal joint 26 is provided with the usual connecting pins 27 and 28. The body portion 16 is provided with an elongated member 16 having a laterally projecting portion 17* which is identical to the members 16 and 17 shown in FIGS. 1-3. Also, operatively connected to the other end of the elongated member 16 is an outwardly projecting actuating member 1. 9 having an elongated handle-like member 21. The pin 27 is secured rigidly to the body portion -18 and is provided with a slot 29 at the end thereof adjacent the elongated member 16 whereby member 16 is adapted for free longitudinal movement through slot 29. in view of the fact that the operation of the device shown in FIG. 5 is identical to the operation of the device shown in FIGS. 1-4, no further description thereof is deemed necessary. The only difference between the device shown in FIG. 5 and the device shown in FIGS. 1-3 is the universal joint 26 which permits use of the device as a universal socket.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have devised an improved socket wrench which is simple of construction and which may be formed by modifying conventional type sockets, including swivel or universal type sockets. By providing a laterally projecting member Within the socket which holds the nut at selected positions, the nut may be positioned entirely within the socket or be held therein whereby a portion projects outwardly of the socket for easy engagement with a bolt. Also, by providing an elongated member having a laterally projecting portion carried thereby and an actuating member positioned outwardly of the socket, the nut may be readily ejected from the socket after the nut is removed from a bolt. Furthermore, by providing a laterally projecting member which is of a shape corresponding generally to the internal shape of the nut receiving socket, the socket is maintained in a clean condition at all times and there is no accumulation of grit, grease or the like within the socket.

While I have shown my invention in two forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In a socket wrench embodying an elongated tubular body having a nut receiving socket at one end thereof and means adjacent the other end thereof for attachment to an actuating tool, the improvement which comprises:

(a)an elongated outwardly opening passageway in a side of said tubular body in communication at one end with said nut receiving socket,

(b) an elongated member mounted for sliding movement in said passageway with one end of said elongated member projecting inwardly of said socket and adapted for longitudinal movement relative thereto,

(c) a laterally projecting member carried by said one end of the elongated member and disposed to engage the inner surface of a nut positioned within said socket,

(d) an outwardly projecting actuating member adjacent the other cnd of said elongated member and disposed to ride with said elongated member and within the confines of said outwardly opening passageway, and

(e) a lock member pivotally mounted within the confines of said outwardly opening passageway on the outwardly projecting actuating member adjacent the outer end thereof in position to be moved to selected angular positions to engage inner surfaces of said outwardly opening passageway and thereby retain said laterally projecting member at selected longitudinal positions within said socket.

References t'jitcd in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,298,266 Viaudr-euil Mar. 25, 1919 1,323,056 'Hofmann Nov. 25, 1919 1,474,236 Byrne Nov. 13, 1923 1,579,072 Brouse Mar. 30, 1926 2,543,444 D6ZOI'Z Feb. 27, 1951 2,636,759 Rueb Apr. 28, 1953 2,720,804 Brown Oct. 18, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 818,530 Great Britain Aug. 19, 1959 

